How to deal with this bloody phobia
by Apl9662
Summary: Post series 6, no spoilers whatsoever. Martin has done some counceling, but still has to deal with his blood phobia
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Reflections.**

This had been quite a long working day with the usual number of malingerers who wanted to see the Doc only to complain about the weather and asking stupid questions on Martin's and Louisa's private liv e. The number of times Martin had to bark: 'That's none of your business ' were countless.

Now Martin was swiftly cleaning the kitchen after a delicious and nutritive meal of fish stew with a lot of vegetables and some new potatoes. 'Louisa is a remarkable woman', Martin thought. First, all she could cook were sausages with a lot of gravy and at best some broccoli as vegetables, but now, she understood perfectly what a healthy meal should include. Especially when she discovered that it made her loose the extra kilograms from her pregnancy, she really got a hang of it. Nowadays, her healthy diet even permitted her to take some of her much loved chocolate digestives every now and then. And Martin found her body was even more beautiful than before she has been giving birth to their adorable son.

Louisa was taking care of James' bath ritual and the giggles and laughs that Martin could even hear from downstairs, made him understand that they wouldn't be ready for some time. Martin smiled inwardly and settled on the couch for a moment of relaxation and reflection.

Just after having locked the young surgeon in the cupboard and just before operating Louisa, Martin had promised Louisa that he wanted to change and he asked her to help her. He meant to say that he needed help with being a good husband and a good father. The next day, when Martin arrived at the hospital, his emotions got hold of him. Of course no one could read it from his face, since years of holding back his emotions had made an expert in it, but at the sight of his beautiful wife, Martin trembled and wasn't able to speak. 'We can't go on like this Martin'.. 'I know', he croaked. 'Thank you for looking after me Martin' 'Hmm, you are my patient and you're my wife'. Then he left the room …

Ten minutes later he reentered the room, a huge bouquet of flowers in his arms. 'Louisa, he said, life is too short to waste it, don't you agree? So I really want to change and I really need your help. You're such a wonderful mother to James and I can't bear to be without you both. I love you Louisa and I love James. You know , Aunt Ruth gave me a number of a person who can help me, but I need your help too, my love.. Tears were glistering in his eyes. Louisa also cried and gestured Martin to come closer. 'I know you love me Martin and of course I will help you. I also need help, you know, to learn not to run away from the one I love so deeply… Oh I hate this sling.. I cannot even put my arms around you, come closer big guy and kiss me '.

Since then, Martin had visited the psychiatrist Ruth advised him to see. Mr. Johnson was well known for his job and although Martin was rather reluctant to give any answers on questions that brought back painful memories, Mr. Johnson soon discovered what was the best way to retrieve information from his client. It wasn't long before he understood what a bad luck Martin had had with Margaret and Christopher as his selfish abusing parents. 'Dr Ellingham', Mr. Johnson said, 'Should you be a ten year old telling me these horrible things, I would have placed your parents under supervision and I most certainly would have taken action to send you somewhere else. Most probably with your aunt Joan and uncle Phil. Ruth told me that your aunt Joan was really fond of you. I bet it wouldn't have cost me much to convince them to let you stay with them in Portwenn. But now that's too late, of course, so I need to help you in another way. You are a clever man, so I suppose you understand that even for standards the seventies, the way your parents really ignored and even abused you was unacceptable. I don't think you have read the Harry Potter sequel, have you? Locking a young boy in a closet under the stairs… Insane! I recall from what you told me, that you and Louisa both had a woeful youth. Yours has turned you in a very introvert and sequestered person and you don't let anybody come close to you. Even literally: your grumpy approach to anyone who dares coming near to you, makes them turn around immediately and leave you alone. And then there is Louisa, who, as I understand from what you told me, has also had lots of problems in the past. Her mum running away when she was eight, her dad gambling and getting in trouble all the time. No wonder she has the tendency to run away from everybody, just to be sure that _she_ is not the one left behind! Have you considered that Louisa has shown a lot of courage, by always supporting you, by believing in the fact that under this thick crust of grumpiness, there hides a very sensitive caring and loving man?' Martin swallowed hard when Mr. Johnson said this, because he had never realized this. He simply didn't know because he always strode away in such situations, leaving Louisa behind with the damage of his grumpiness and rude behaviour. 'Dr. Ellingham, Mr. Johnson said, 'I don't need to tell you that there is no simple cure for this situation. I can only give you some ideas that might help you both. All Louisa seems to ask for is being treated as a grown-up woman that can take her own decisions. On the other hand, she also longs to be loved and cherished and trusted, things she never could rely on in the past. Try to be a bit more open, express your feelings, share your mutual doubts, anxiety, but also share your moments of joy and love. Then she will lose the urge to flee and starts to feel confident about the future…'.

Distracted by tese thoughts, Martin picked up his favourite medical journals . A new one just arrived with today's mail. As he usually did, he first scanned it rapidly to find out what the most interesting articles are. Suddenly his eyes captured an announcement: April 14 to 16, Medical congress in Amsterdam , how to deal with agoraphobia, mysophobia, claustrophobia, haemophobia in your practice, subscribe now ! Quickly Martin read the program of the convention and then got an idea.

to be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two - Surprises

'Now young man, I think you're pretty clean now, so let us get you in your pyjama's!'.

James started to cry to show his disagreement, but Louisa firmly lifted him from the tub and wrapped him in a warm towel.

This was the signal for Martin to go upstairs. He entered the bathroom and quickly put away the numerous plastic boats and ducks James loved to play with.

While he tidied up the bathroom, Louisa was reading to James his favourite Thomas the Tank engine book "Thomas comes to Breakfast". James sat on Louisa's lap and they both had a lot of fun. Louisa showed all the images to James and included silly noices to the story. When the book was finished, Louisa hugged and kissed their son and put him in his cot.

She started to sing: ' Hush little baby, don't say a word, mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird...'

Martin listened for a minute and wondered why the lyrics of lullabies never made any sense..He knew them by hart though, even if he hadn't ever sung the song .

As she always did, Louisa sang the same song twice.

Thinking of what Dr. Johnson advised him, Martin entered James' room and stood behind Louisa. He put his arms around her waist.

'And if that mockingbird won't sing, mama is gonna buy you a diamond ring', he sang along with Louisa.

At first, his voice sounded a bit insecure, but it grew in confidence every second. Surprised, Louisa glanced at himand smiled, but continued the song.

James also looked surprised, then clapped his chubby little hands and kicked with his feet and showed a huge smile. He really seemed to enjoy himself. He looked up at both his parents. 'Dada', he babbled and then 'Mummum'.

Now Martin and Louisa gave each other a puzzled look. That sounded like 'dad' and 'mum' to them, but James was only ten months old! At the sound of their soft singing voices, the little man soon calmed down and started to doze of.

Quietly, Martin and Louisa kissed James goodnight and went downstairs.

'Thank you Martin', said Louisa, giving him a big hug, 'you are a wonderful father'.

'Hmm, no, I'm not, I hardly know anything about babies and toddlers. It looked like he called me daddy, but that can't be true yest, is it?'

Martin was honest, he didn't know a lot about upbringing childrenand when they start to speak. He made a mental note to look it up some time.

'Yes, me too I thought he called me mummy a few minutes ago, whishful thinking, I guess?

'Hmm, yes, maybe'

Martin, went to the kitchen to make them some tea. As he entered the living room, Louisa had settled on the couch. He gave her a mug of tea and joined her on the couch. Louisa snuggled close to him and rested her head on his chest.

He gently stroked her hair and they both relaxed enjoying their tea. These were the most precious moments of his days and he hoped that for once the villagers of Portwenn wouldn't disturb them with some non existing 'emergency'.

Maybe he was lucky this time, as there was an important football match on tv. He wouldn't have known this - he hated any form of sport - but he overheard his patients chatting about it this afternoon in the waiting room of the surgery. Louisa zapped from channel to channel in a tempo his eyes couldn't cope with, so Martin picked up his medical journal again.

Martin noticed that Louisa got frustrated by the fact that there wasn't anything of her interest on the telly. Then he said: 'Louisa, in a few weeks, the Easter holidays will start, isn't it?'

'Yes, Martin, why' ?

'Well, uhmmm'…

'Yes Martin...?'

'I would like us to go somewhere, you and me ... and James of course'.

'Oh...? OK.., what do you have in mind? '

'You have never been to the Netherlands, have you?'

'No, my father always gambled without any luck whatsoever, so all the money .. ffffft down the drain..'

'Good, I mean, so it would be a new experience to go there then?'

He hands out the medical journal, opened at page 37..

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three - Questions**

'Martin, are you sure?'

'Yes actually.'

'But why? I mean is it because you want to solve Penhale's problem?'

'No Louisa, besides, I cannot discuss patient information with you, you know that...'

'So, it's for personal reasons...'

He took her hand to find comfort in the tuch of her lovely skin.

'Well..., doctor Johnson advised me not to run away from the problem, but to face it. What would be a better opportunity to face it than by attending this conference? '

Louisa laid her hand firmly on his arm. 'Martin, look at me... You know you will put yourself in a very vulnerable position, don't you?'

Martin swallowed hard. This was probably what doctor Johnson tried to explain to him: opening up to Louisa and discussing things together would make her more considerate towards him as well.

'Hmmm, yes, I suppose you're right, but, you know, this conference will be attended by maybe two hundred persons or more and very few of them know me or my past as vascular surgeon. My ex-colleagues from the Imperial are not very likely to come to this kind of conferences that do not deal with the most modern operating skills and techniques. I reckon that I will be able to be there without really being noticed...'

'And excel in putting up your usual stoneface to stay in control during the conference?

Gosh, Louisa did know him very well!, he thought.

'Hmm.. The content of the conference actually is really interesting and it can help me treat cases of agoraphobia, or mysophobia, claustrophobia and so on if cases would occur in my surgery. Most probably I will learn a lot about CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy, which will make it easier for me to accompany patients with several types of disorders of phobia. I mean, I could have diagnosed Mikes problems much earlier, if I would have known more on that subject..'.

For a second, even Martin himself forgot that he shouldn't discuss patient's matters with his beautiful wife, but, he thougth, it was probably a more useful argument to convince Louisa to cross the Channel wih him.

Maybe he could use some of that CBT himself, Louisa thought, but she was so wise not to mention it. That would certainly spoil this wonderful evening.

Louisa smiled instead and said. 'So, what do you have in mind for me and James?'

Martin sighed with relief - not an immediate no, that was promissing.

More enthousiastically and a bit reassured, Martin explained: 'Of course there is the partner program, we will have to look-up what that offers', but ... I.. Ehm.. I would like you to be around ... Not far away ... On the day they treat the blood phobia..'

... He had a huge lump in his throat to swallow away...

'Louisa, when I'm with you, you make me feel so much more confident about everything.. And, as an answer to your question, yes I know it will be difficult to cope with the subject. And.. I think.. , no, I know I will need your - and James' - conforting presence that day. So please, will you come with me to Amsterdam?

His own eyes glistening with emotional tears, he looked into hers, longing for a positive answer.

To be continued.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - Dreams**

Louisa stared back into Martin's pleading eyes and hers moistened like his. She then cupped his face in her two hands and softly stroke his cheeks with her thumbs.

'Of course I'll come with you Martin and we'll take James on his very first holiday too.'

Martin sighed with relief, stood up and pulled Louisa up too. He embraced her in a very firm hug, but was unable to speak at that moment, choked by his emotions.

Her experience with Martin so far had learnt her that feeling her close to him helped Martin much better to get over difficult emotional moments than any spoken word would.

So Louisa, a bit squeezed by the firm embrace, freed herself just enough to be able to wrap her arms around his neck. She pulled his head closer to hers and started to kiss him softly.

They stood close to each other for a few minutes and Martin kissed Louisa back. Their kisses became more intense and passionate.

'Let's discuss the details of the journey tomorrow, Louisa.' Martin said in a husky voice. 'I have other plans for now...'.

He broke the embrace and said : 'Just go upstairs already. I'll join you in a minute. I'll just lock the doors and so on'

Louisa climbed the stairs and Martin followed her with his eyes. _Gawd what is she beautiful,_ he thought. His heart swollen with love and pride, he finished the evening rituals of locking the doors, preparing the breakfast table to gain time in the morning rush and to put the lights out.

Then he also went upstairs. He heard Louisa in the bathroom, having her shower, humming a love song..

Martin -still mildly turned on by the lovely kisses- imagined her smiling dreamingly when the water flowed over her naked body. Oh, if he could get a glimpse of that!

'Oh what the...' he mumbled, and quickly undressed from his suit and shirt. Then, only dressed in his boxer, he entered the bathroom and opened the shower cabine door. What he saw, was just like he imagined her a few seconds before...

Louisa, alerted by the cold stream of air that suddenly appeared in the shower cabine, looked up. 'Martin!'

Not exactly understanding how to interprete the tone of her voice, Martin, uttered 'I wanted to get a glimpse of you..' He hesitated just one second, but then took a deep breath, stripped his boxer and stepped into the shower.

Flabbergasted by his initiative, Louisa grabbed him by the arm and pulled him further towards her in the shower.

'Oh my gorgous man, you make one of my dreams come true by joining me her, do you know that?

'Hmmm, likewise', he answered, 'I already dream of it since our first night together.. The day I proposed..'

'What a waste of time!'

'Yes!'

He then put some showergel on his hand and started to gently rub Louisa's back.

_He is taking the lead!_ Louisa thought positively surprised, _another dream to come true!_ Then she followed his example and put foaming showergel all over Martin's tall frame and started to give him a soapy massage.

By the touch of her soft hands, Martin moaned and pulled her close, for a passionate kiss. They started fumbling and caressing, both enjoying very much the intimate moment under the hot water jet an both getting more and more turned on.

'This is not going to work, I don't want to hurt you and I don't want us both to slip in the shower!' The practical side of Martin seemed to win from the romantic one ...

_He is in control again_ , Louisa thought regretfully.

Martin closed the tap, but then surprised Louisa again: he grabbed a large towel and wrapped Louisa in it, just like she did with their son a few hours ago. He quickly rubbed himself dry with another towel and then softly rubbed Louisa with the towel, holding her close and gently kissing her on her moist hair.

His careful gestures made her speechless. She gazed at him with big longing eyes and smiled.

He then picked her up and carried her to their room. He kicked the door closed with his foot and shut out the entire world.. _What he and Louisa were about to do, was none of anybody's business!_

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Stars**

Martin and Louisa slept quietly after their very satisfactory love making. Their legs intertwined and Louisa's head resting on Martin's chest. Both had obviously very pleasant dreams..

In the other room, James started to whimper. Martin's perfect hearing woke him up immediately. Carefully, he moved out of the bed, trying not to wake up Louisa. He put on his dressing gown.

He entered James' room, 'Shsh, James, you're going to wake up your mother..', he said softly.

James stood in his cot his hands holding the bars in a firm grip to steady himself. Big tears fell down on his chucky cheeks. Even though in the beginning, when James was just a few days old, he preached that it wasn't good to pick up the baby at any first little whimper, he now bended over and lifted James up in his arms.

'What's the matter son, can't you sleep? You can't be hungry, is it? You're too old for night feedings now young man..' Martin touched james' forehead. 'No fever either'. He then took a tissue and gently whiped the tears away. James already calmed down by the soft and comforting voice of his daddy. Martin kissed James on his forehead to sooth him further.

Martin sat down in Louisa's rocking chair right next to the window and installed James comfortably on his lap, rocking the chair gently.

Martin remembered the time he was a little boy. When he couldn't sleep, he put a chair in front of the window and on his knees, his arms resting on the window sill, he used to stare into the dark night, scrutinizing the sky for blinking stars.. He kept looking at them until his eyes were too tired to stay open and then went back to bed.

Very young, he had understood that this was a better method to get over his fears and worries than to call for his mum or dad. That would only result in either a promiss from his mother to be locked in the cupboard or a lashing with his belt from his father and in both cases it would result in wetting his bed...

Martin shivered at the sad memories of these lonely, anxious nights.

'My sweet little son, I will never ever let you struggle alone with your nightly fears or spooky dreams! I hope you will always come to me - or to your mummy - with any trouble you have to cope with...'

James looked at his father with his great blueish eyes and smiled. As if he understood every word his father said. 'Dada', he babbled, 'Dada'. One of his little hands reached at Martin's face. It felt like being softly caressed on the cheek. Martin swallowed hard and looked down at his wonderful son, HIS son... How wonderful this felt - comforting his little son and being comforted by this little creature at the same time..

Martin opened the curtains a bit. The sky was really bright and full of stars. 'Look James that's the Ursa Major and there you can see Ursa Minor and there is the moon too.. When you're some years older, I'll show you my book on the galaxies..'

Martin continued talking to James with a soft soothing voice. James had already put his thumb in his mouth. It didn't take long before he dozed of. Instead of putting him immediately back into his cot, Martin stayed a bit longer in the chair, cradling James and quietly rocking and enjoying the warmth of the little boy sleeping in his arms.

He looked at the stars and at his son alternately and thought about their marvelous little star. The center of the Ellingham universe.

Then, he stood up, gently kissed his son on his forehead, put him in his cot and tucked him in. 'Sleep tight James, tomorrow we are going to prepare our holidays..' Martin whispered, 'Our first family trip abroad, to the country of Rembrandt van Rijn, Van Gogh, Ruysdael...You're a bit young to understand it all, but your mummy will love it! And so do I'

As silently as possible he entered the master bedroom and regained his place in the bed, avoiding to touch Louisa with his cold feet and trying not to wake her up.

'What was wrong with James, Martin?' Her motherly instincts must have awakened her anyway.

'Nothing Louisa, he probably just had a bad dream', he put an arm around her waist and snuggled close to her, 'Now let's all try to have nice dreams...'. Based on the regular breathing, he understood that Louisa fell asleep immediately indeed. Must be one of the magical wonders of motherhood, he judged, benefiting of each moment of sleep you can get...

He himself lay awake for some time.

The wonderful evening, followed by the fabulous love making and the precious moment with James passed in review. He was sure that he would never forget this evening and night that brought him new, sweet memories, fading away the bitter ones from his youth. Not many persons will believe this, but it made him, the gruff and grumpy Dr Ellingham, smile...

To be continued..


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Tulips**

Next morning Martin woke up after a very good night. After the intermezzo with James, he had rather easily fallen asleep again and apparently so had his son. Now it was seven o'clock already, normally James woke up at about six thirty.

Martin got out of bed quietly, Louisa still slept peacefully, curled up on her side of the bed. As it was still silent in James' room, he quickly headed to the bathroom for a shower and a shave. He dressed, but left out the jacket of his suit - several experiences with bottles and oatmeal had learnt him rather expensive lessons. The dry cleaner's bills had risen sky high over the past ten months...

Now he heared James babbling and gurgling, so he was awake now and training his vocal cords and tongue.

Martin entered his room and was welcomed with a huge smile.. It briefly reminded him of the smile his son gave him on the moment his son was about to leave to Spain with his mother, but he pushed away these thoughts.

'Goodmorning James, did you sleep well?'

Martin lifted his son out of his cot. He quickly changed his son's nappy. 'That wasn't really a luxury, was it, little man?'

They both went downstairs. Martin installed James in his chair, put the kettle on for tea, boiled some eggs and gave James a soft piece of bread to chew on. He also prepared the oatmeal and a bottle for James and the tea for him and Louisa of course.

After having assured himself that James was secured in his chair and couldn't reach for anything harmful on the table, he went upstairs to wake up Louisa.

'Goodmorning Louisa' he said when he entered the room, 'Sorry to have to wake you up, but it is time for you to get up. I'd like you to join us for breakfast... Uhm.. ' he hesitated but then added 'that is something I really missed in my youth, a family moment to start the day with...'.

Louisa, regretfully leaving her nice dreams on her pillow, streched, got out of bed and put a dressing gown on. Heading downstairs, she pecked Martin on his recently shaven cheek and smiled. 'Come on then, Martin, I could eat a horse, after this night's exercices...'.

Martin's ears got purple, and his cheeks also showed a dark shade of red. He still wasn't used to talking about their intimate moments..

When they entered the kitchen, James welcomed them with a big smile 'mumum, dada'. His babbles were accompanied by taps on the table with the wooden spoon he used as a toy.

'Good morning gorgeous' his mummy said, kissing and hugging him. 'Heared you have helped your father getting over a bad dream hmmm..'.

'Actually it was James who had a bad dream, Louisa..'

'Maybe, but when you returned to bed, you also slept a deep sleep, darling. Quite a long time ago, since you had a night like that, wasn't it?'

'Hmmm'.

All three of them quietly enjoyed their breakfast. 'You're right Martin, this is better than rushingly take a bite and do ten things at the time, before going to school. But I am not sure I will be able to manage it like this every day...

Now it was really time for Louisa to get dressed, so she went upstairs, while Martin cleaned up the kitchen and dressed James.

It was nearly eight o'clock now. Louisa wouldn't go to school before half past eight and his surgery would start at nine.

He took his smartphone and started to enter a text message:

'_Good morning Morwenna, no you're not to late, don't worry. Actually, I want you to be late today...'_ He pushed the send button.

'_Morning doc, I bet you want to have some privacy, for kissing your wife before going at work?! ;-)_' was the message Martin received as an answer.

'_No nothing like that and none of your business, although..._' Martin pushed the send button again.

'_What's up doc?_'

'_I wish you to do something for me.._'

Then he typed another message with his question and ended with '_Thank you!'_

Morwenna, sipping from her mug of coffee, looked at the last message the doc had sent to her, flabbergastered. The doc saying thank you! 'W_ell, as he puts it that way, he shows he's learning, how can I refuse his request!_

She quickly finished her breakfast and went to the florist shop just around the corner. She carefully chose the indicated flowers and assured that the florist put the rightg colors in the bunch and in the mean time chose an adequate blue vase for them..

'Please arrange them in here, doctor's orders!'

The florist looked quite surprised at the order, but obeyed of course, knowing that he could charge something extra for the service. Morwenna was really pleased with the result and carefully carried the vase with flowers up the hill to the surgery. Not exactly knowing what doc Martin wished to do with them it seemed best to her to put them in the examination room.

She entered the kitchen. 'Morning doc, hello little fellow' she greeted the two Ellingham men. Louisa wasn't there yet. Martin looked at her questioningly, 'Hmm yes, good morning Morwenna, where...'

Before he finished the sentence Morwenna answered 'In the examining room. Suposed you wanted to do something special with them.'

'Right, yes, watch James for a minute, please'

Martin went to the surgery and came back with the vase. He put it in the middle of the table. It could not be missed.

'Doc?', Morwenna asked, 'Do you want me to bring James to Maureen and Roger? That 'll give Louisa some minutes extra to admire them before going to school... And it'll get me out of the way too', she added with a grin.

'Hmm, yes, good initiative', Martin replied, quickly preparing James' bag and putting him in the buggy.

'Come on James, let's leave them turtle-doves alone for a moment...'

Martin just closed the kitchen door behind them, when Louisa entered. 'Where's James?... Oh Martin, they are beautiful, where did you get those at this hour of the day, without going out?'

Louisa pointed at the beautiful blue vase with numerous red and white tulips in it. There were also three orange tulips right in the center. A little card was attached, saying_ Dutch flowers in the Dutch national colors to thank you for coming to the Netherlands, Martin._

Martin stood near the sink, a bit shy and not knowing which question to answer first. Best would be chronologic order, he decided. 'Morwenna brings James to Maureen today. She also went to the florist on my request..'

'Martin, what a beautiful surprise, it makes me want to prepare our visit to the country of Vermeer and all those other famous painters right away. We also can go and see the flower fields won't we? She came towards him and put her arms around his waist, smiling her most beautiful smile.

Martin was amused by his wifes enthousiasm, embraced her as well and kissed her on top of her head. 'Glad you like them', he said, 'I'll make the subscription to the conference today and I'll ask Chris to organize a locum for two weeks. Tonight we'll look at the rest together. Now, at this moment, I have patients to see and you have pupils to teach..'.

'Yeah', Louisa said regretfully, 'but not before I've given you a proper thank you!' She then kissed Martin passionately and Martin replied equally, both forgetting all about school and surgery...

Then Morwenna shouted from the waiting room 'DOC, you have patients waitinggggg!'...

**To be continued**..


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 - preparations**

At about 10:30, there appeared to be a gap in the planning of patients wanting to see him, so Martin took the telephone and dialed the internal number of his assistant's device. That was also something he had learnt from the counceling sessions... Not to shout in the surgery..

With a short 'Yes Doc?' Morwenna answered Martins call.

'Can I have a word with you?'

'OK Doc, the next patient is at 11:50'.

'Good, come through then'

Quizzicaly, Morwenna stood up and entered the examination room, after a short knock on the door. She didn't know why she was summoned, so even if he knew it would be her, Morwenna chose to knock, just to be on the save side..

'Come in and sit down' Martin ordered.

'Morwenna, Louisa, James and I are going on holidays for two weeks, from mid April on'

'To the Netherlands, I bet?'

'Hmm, yes.. How do you know that?' But then Martin realized that she must have made the link with the tulips. '_I knew it, she is cleverer than most of these villagers_', slipped through his mind.

'We will be away for about two weeks. I have to organize a locum, but we can also close the surgery completely during these holidays and send the patients to Wadebridge for the time being', he explained.

'In the latter case, you'll have to take holidays too. However, I don't want to force you to take holidays whenever it suits **me**, so...'

Morwenna couldn't believe her ears, 'Gee, Doc, you **have** changed since last year. All of a sudden you let me participate in your decision, you make me proud!...'

Martin blushed a bit, not knowing if Morwenna was sincere or just sarcastic.

'Uhmmm, yes, your choice!'

Still flabbergasted by his suggestion, Morwenna answered hesitantly.

'Well, I think we'd best stay open Doc. I mean, with the crisis and all, a lot of people can't afford to go to Wadebridge for a doctor's visit anymore. Besides, most of them prefer their own grumpy GP at their own surgery. So when the GP isn't there, I guess they'd still prefer a locum at their own surgery.'

'Hmm, from the patient's point of view, you're probably right. Very nice of you to think of them first, very professionnal. But now for your personal sake, what would **you** prefer?'

'Well Doc, if you must know, I'd rather stay and continue to work. I can't afford to go abroad yet and I wouldn't know who to go on holiday with either...'.

'Hmm, a locum then', Martin replied. 'I'll call Chris Parsons to organize it. And Morwenna,..?'

'Yes Doc?'

'Thank you for getting the flowers this morning, they are beautiful. I suppose the florist will send me a bill?'

Morwenna hesitated, '...Actually no.., he doesn't give credit. I had to pay immediately.'

Martin took his wallet out of his pocket and asked, 'how much do I owe you then?'

'Twenty-five pounds, sir, with the vase and all, I have the ticket in my purse, I'll get it'

'No, no, that's not necessary'. Martin gave her fifty pounds. 'This is for you. Buy a bunch of flowers for yourself with the rest of it, or save it for future use. Thanks again'.

This time Morwenna couldn't belief her eyes, Doc gave her a bonus!

She kept staring at him in disbelief.

'Now, off you go, I have a call to make'. He practically pushed her out of the examination room. In the doorway, she stopped and turned around.

'What?' Martin asked.

Instead of saying anything, Morwenna stood on her tiptoes to bridge the thirty centimeters length difference and pecked him on the cheek. 'Thanks, doctor Ellingham' and then strode back to her desk, leaving Martin speechless on the doorstep.

To be continued..


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 - Preparations (2)**

In the mean time at school, Louisa started a geography lesson with the fifth grade.

'Hello class, today we are going to do something special. We are going to the library and the media center. In small groups, you are going to find some details on a European country. This afternoon, you and your group will give feedback to us all. And be careful, you will get a grade for it, so you'd better work on it seriously.

Here are the themes you can work on:

- transport - how can you travel through this country

- accomodition - where can you stay

- culinary specialties - what are the local dishes

- art and culture - are there musea you shouldn't miss

- geographical circumstances (demography, are there mountains, rivers, is it close to the sea, etc.)

Please copy any interesting link you wish to use in your feedback in a mail and send it to me at headteacher at primaryportwenn dot org. During the walk to the mediacenter, I'll tell you in which group you'll be.

Now quietly pack your stuf and off we go' Louisa instructed.

'Miss G', Timmy said.

'She is Mrs. E. since a long time now, you dummy', Angela corrected.

'Never mind Tim, what's it you want to ask?'

'Well... You never said on what country we have to do this task'.

Louisa she put her hand to her mouth in surprise.

'You're rigth Tim, how silly of me. Now I let you guess: this country produces cheese,..'

'France', Hillary shouted - she had been there last summer.

'No, it isn't France and I hadn't finished yet, Hillary', Louisa snapped.

'.. It's a kingdom and their football team plays in orange, who knows whch country we are going to study?', she continued.

About twenty children put their hands up now. One boy raised his hand, but quickly dropped it again, his ears turning red and his face all flushed.

'Jeremy, give it a shot' Louisa encouraged the shy boy. She was practically sure that he would give the right answer and she didn't want to lose to much time on This ridle. He reminded her of Peter Cronk, the highly intelligent boy that Martin had saved in the first year he was GP in Portwenn.

'Hmm, I, I..think it's the Netherlands..', Jeremy uttered, his face getting purple, now.

'Yes, Jeremy, that's correct, well done!'

Then the class quietly left the school and walked to the library.

Louisa split the class in five groups. Doing so she tried to give them all a subject they would most likely be interested in.

She also chose five group leaders. She gave them the task to do the time keepiing and told them they were responsible for the collection of the internet links. For this task she picked the chlidren that were accurate and precise.

The ones of whom she knew they were gamers, with probably quite a lot of knowledge on how to capture and copy links, were also divided over the different groups.

At the media center, the children enthousiastically started the research. Happily enough, none of the computers was broken down - which was a miracle in itself..

Louisa, kept an eye on them and when seeing that they all were seriously scrutinizing the Internet, she asked the librarian to watch them for a moment. She went to the "country" section in the library and chose some interesting books on the Netherlands and Amsterdam to use in the afternoon and to take home afterwards.

When she came back to the mediacenter, the children were looking at different sites. 'Jee, almost 25 percent of this country is located below the sealevel! that's why it's called Netherlands Or low lands... 'Where soes Holland come from then?' Someone asked. 'just the name of to provinces', Jeremy answered. You've North Holland, where Amsterdam is located, the capital of the Netherlands. South Holland, with the Hague as capital of the province and residential city with the parliament and so on and Rotterdam with a main port, form the other half of Holland.

Another group was working on the demography: 'nearly 500 persons per square kilometer, that means they all live like sardines in a can over there!'

Their neighbours, working on transport replied : 'no wonder they all ride the bicycles there, there simply isn't any space for cars..'

After about one hour, Louisa reminded them to send her the links of the sites they used and anounced that within ten minutes they would go back to school.

'Remember, this afternoon each group will give us all a synthesis of what they have learnt'.

The fifth-graders, knowing Louisa for some time now, didn't even think about disobeying the headteacher - no one wanted to spoil this exceptional day.

At lunchtime, most children stayed at school, but Louisa went home as often as she could. James stayed with Maureen until the end of the school day, which made it possible for Martin and Louisa to have a quiet lunch together. This was also an idea of the counselor Mr. Johnson, to invest in spending time together, not disturbed by anyone, not even by their precious son.

Unfortunately quite a lot of planned lunches like that resulted in a lonely lunch for Louisa and Martin being called away for an emergency. So every time it was a guess whether they could eat their soup with bread and cheese quietly or not.

'Hello Martin, that smells good!', Louisa said when she came in through the back door. She kissed him on the cheek, while he was busy pouring soup in the bowls. 'How was your morning?'

'Fine, quiet', Martin replied, 'and yours?'

In a few sentences, Louisa explained the visit to the library and the task she had given to the children.

'That'll save me a lot of searching on the internet and it's a good exercice for them', she said to underline the educational value of her idea.

'Brilliant idea, Louisa, I don't doubt that you've asked them to send you the links for yourself for future use?'

'Indeed! We'll see if it will be useful, but it's a start..'.

For once they could finish their lunch undisturbed. Martin confirmed to have spoken to Chris Parsons to organize a local.

'Chris asked me the same question as you did - if I was sure about the blood phobia congres..'

'He is your friend, so he is concerned about your well being'.

'He was relieved to hear that you are coming with me. And finding a local will not be a problem.. He told me that he would take over himself if he couldn't find anyone - it's the first time I will be on holydays since I am GP here..'

'I told you, he IS a friend...'

Louisa went back to school. The presentations of the five groups would take most of hte afternoon, but that was fine for one day. They would practice presentation skills, and learn each other a lot about this country.

'Let us start with traveling to the Netherlands and traveling in the Netherlands, group one, what have you found out?'.

Alicia, a very organized girl, told the class: ' From our country, you have several possibilities to go there.

By car and by boat will allow you to travel with your own car in the Netherlands. If you do so, don't forget that they drive at the other side of the road! It's a long journey by car, and the Northsea is often very rough so a lot of persons get seasick.

You can also take the train to Londen, then travel with the Eurostar to Paris and then take the Thalys to Amaterdam

Last possibility is by plane. For us, the easiest way is to fly from Exeter to Amsterdam Schiphol ariport, which, as we found out, is located at 4,5 meters below sealevel!

Within the country, there are good train connections between the bigger cities, but when you travel to the regions in the east or south part of the country, it's best to take a car. The Dutch also use the bike for traveling within a city. Children of our age nearly all come to school by bike, especially in the smaller villages.'

'Thank you group 1, well done and thank you also for the links to the national railway site and the site of the public transport in Amsterdam'

Tim, also part of group 1 and a big fan of Top Gear, added: 'I don't think the doc will find a lot of Lexuses in the Netherlands, most cars over there are Volkswagens or Opels, Japanese or French cars...'

'Thank you Tim, for those additional information. Group two, where can I stay?'

Johnny, son of Tommy the taxi driver, stood up and said:'well, there are endless possibilities. In Amsterdam there are plenty of hotels of all categories, but also hostels, bed and breakfasts and even people who lend them your house for a stay in yours, so an exchange system.. If you don't want to pay, you also can ask to stay in a kraakpand, a squat.. He added with a smile - only joking!

When going in some of the other regions, there are a lot of bed and breakfasts. But also sleep in a treehouse, tipi of tilt car if you like. Just like here, there are also resorts with holidayhomes for rent. You can find ideas for that at weekendjeweg for instance. All big hotel chains have their own websites you can consult. The girls in our group were thrilled by bijzonderplekje, a bed and breakfast in Gelderland, in the middle of the woods, not far of National park Hoge Veluwe.

'Very good Johnny, thank you. Like the girsl I prefer the b&b in the woods over sleeping in the squat...', Louisa confirmed.

Like the two other groups, the remaining three groups gave a clear view of their topic.

Louisa understood from what the third group told, that Martin wouldn't be thrilled by the Dutch national food. A classic dish consists of boiled potatoes, overcooked veggies and meat, mostly sausages, the whole plate covered with gravy... On the other hand, the Netherlands traditionally being a country with colonies overseas, most likely there would be also influences from abroad. _The traditional bitterbal, served at drinks and parties, were to be kept far away from him, _she thought.

The group handling art and culture informed her that there are over 1000 museums. The most famous museums were mentioned, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Goghmuseum, Kröller-Müller. The group also mentioned the Openlucht museum, an open air museum near Arnhem, where you could learn about how the Dutch lived in the old times.

The last group came up with a lot of interesting geographical knowledge: the Netherlands have a surface of 41,543 km2, of which 18% is water. 27% of the land has been reclaimed from the water, by creating polders. The deepest place is located in the Zuidplaspolder, near Rotterdam. It is situated at 6,76 meters below sealevel. Watermanagement is very important, even the future king*) has a role in this process. Water managment is the reason why there are still 1000 windmills spread allover the Netherlands. Most of them were used to pump the water away when the polders were created, some of them are still functional.

This group also said that absolute "must see" were the Kinderdijk, where not less than 17 windmills can be seen in a row and the Deltawerken, watermanagement of the highest order in the region Zeeland. The safety in many parts of the Netherlands could not be guaranteed at times of storms and high sea levels. In the densely populated areas near the river mouths of the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Schelde, it was ver difficult to strengthen the original ones. For that reason the best solution was to close all the river mouths. Only after the flood of 1953, the Deltawerken were realized. 'Amazing', Louisa thought, 'I wonder if Martin has seen that already'.

'Class, i am very proud of you, you will all get an A.'

At that exact moment, the end of class bell rang.

'Dismissed, see you all tomorrow, be careful when you go home!'

'Thank you Mrs. E., 'til tomorrow!'

Louisa packed her bag and headed to Roger and Maureen's to pick up James.

'Hello Maureen, how was your day, did James behave well?'

'Of course, he is such a sweetie. He played with the boys. They seem to understand each other perfectly.'

'Fine! Then to James:'hello gorgeous, come on we are going to daddy, say bye bye, to Maureen..' James babbled 'dada...bubye' and waved to Maureen, producing a charming smile on his little face..

With James in the buggy, her ponytail swinging in the wind, Louisa climbed Rosarock Hill towards the surgery, towards home..

To be continued..

_I hope you liked it, and hopefully I am correct on most of the tourist information you can find behind the lines..._

*) the story situates just before the crowning of King Willem Alexander.


End file.
